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Category: Real Living

Household tips and recipes – Nan’s mothers’ group recipe book
Visiting my nan on Sunday, I started asking her if she still had some of the old recipes she cooked us as kids. Nan was renowned for her biscuits and I thought some of them would make a perfect addition to Ella’s school lunch box as a treat.

What I got was far beyond what I imagined. I came home with a shopping bag full of recipes to look through. Some were even from my great grandmother. Among them was this treasure:

Now Wondrous Ultra Special Sensational Mouthwatering Cookery

This is nan’s mother’s group recipe book. Nan is in her mid 80s. It’s a yellow cardboard covered book with three simple staples in it. Nothing fancy. In the back it says “The North West Union of State School’s Mothers’ Clubs. Donation…. 30 cents’’.

Throughout there are old fashioned recipes typed up neatly, like Chocolate Sponge Cake, Five Minute Cake and Steamed Pudding. There’s also some obscure treats like Apricot Festival Cream, Weetbix Cake and my all-time favourites – Nameless 1 and Nameless 2. There’s a note underneath saying “both are scrumptious – ask Mrs Dodd for the names”. I’m wondering if anyone ever asked Mrs Dodd.

The book even has a couple of pages of “hints’’, like:
- To sharpen scissors, cut on the neck of a sauce bottle or similar as if you were cutting the neck off.
- When requiring a small quantity of lemon juice, pierce with knitting needle and squeeze out the required amount.
- Bunches of mint placed about the kitchen discourage flies.
And so many more.

Over the next couple of weeks I thought I’d share some of the recipes from the book and from her shopping bag full of treasures she’s given me to look through. I might throw in a few of the handy hints too.

To end, here’s the first page in the book. Timeless comedy.

Recipe for Happy Home

1lb of good temper
2lbs forbearance
1lb patience
1.5 lbs contentment
3 lbs unselfishness
1lb fun
2lbs cheerfulness
Method: Mix well with 2 quarts of milk of human kindness.
Dose: 1 wine glass full the first thing in the morning. To be repeated as the effect wears off.

To Preserve A Husband:

Be careful in your selection. Do not choose too young. When once selected give your entire thought to preparation for domestic use. Some insist on keeping them in pickle. Others are constantly keeping them in hot water. This makes them sour, hard and sometimes bitter. Even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared, they will keep for years.

We mums have come a long way in how we go about sharing recipes today!

Do you have anything from your grandparents you treasure? What about an old recipe that you still cook today?

Make sure you subscribe to the eNewsletter to see Nan’s recipes.
November 1, 2012
Decorating a girl’s bedroom for under $10

I’ve spoken before about having decorated Ella’s room (and the Bright Star Kids giveaway is still open by the way), but have nothing but Holly’s name on her bedroom wall. Poor, deprived child, I know!

The girls were looking for something crafty to do this afternoon, so we decided to create some wall art using a hexagonal shape – and our new printer. While Ella’s designs weren’t quite what I was looking for, I did manage to save enough hexagons to make this:

Step 1: Print out hexagonal shapes. Feel free to download this PDF and print out to use.

Step 2: Cut out 14 shapes.

Step 3: Colour half the hexagons. We used leftover pink birthday streamers. We cut the streamers, carefully glued them and then stuck them to the hexagons. You could use cellophane, paint, pencils or material.

Step 4: Use Blue Tack to stick them to the wall in a pattern.

We’re now planning on making a pink bumblebee to go with it. Tutorial to come…

What do you think? Do you have any other suggestions on what we could have done – or still could do?

October 12, 2012
5 books to inspire 5 year olds

The past six months, Ella has been captivated by chapter books. It started with Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree and we haven’t looked back. I thought I’d share the top five books we’ve read so far – books that (maybe) have had me just a little hooked as well. Shh, don’t tell anyone though.

The Magic Faraway Tree Collection * – We’ve read everything – The Enchanted Wood, The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree and Up the Faraway Tree. This would be our absolute favourite collection. Blyton sure knows how to ignite a child’s imagination. I’ve bought the above copy of the series – three books in one – for Ella’s 5th birthday next month. The only disappointment for me was seeing how the names have changed – Jo, Bessie, Fanny and Dick are now Joe, Beth, Frannie and Rick. Dame Slap has also become Dame Snap. Thank goodness Moonface and Saucepan Man haven’t changed. Get a copy on here.

The Wishing Chair Collection * – Another Enid Blyton favourite. This one seemed a logical next step after being swept up by the Faraway Tree characters. Ella was just fascinated by the concept of a chair that had wings and all the magic places they visited. We’ve read Adventures of the Wishing Chair and The Wishing Chair Again, but have yet to delve into More Wishing Chair Stories. Again, I’ve bought her the three books in one series for her birthday which means we can read from start to finish. You can grab a copy here.

The Wizard of Oz * – Ella has not stopped talking about Dorothy. This is another birthday present, but I must admit the copy we hired from the library was a better – and more indepth – book. Although, this version does have an audio book with it. Once we read the book, we hired the movie and now We’re Off To See The Wizard is embedded in my brain! It’s times like those I wish I didn’t have a brain!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory * – I wasn’t sure where to start with Roald Dahl, so have made the leap into one of my favourites. We’re ¾ of the way through this and, I’m embarrassed to say, I’ve been reading beyond our usual “three chapters per night” rule. I think some nights we’ve read six chapters because it’s just far too exciting to put down. As an adult, I appreciate how fantastic Dahl was in creating suspense in his writing.

The Adventures of Stuart Little * – This is not the original version of the book, but our library had the movie version adapted into book form. It made for an easy read and we devoured this one over a few days. It then enabled us to hire the movie, which Ella really enjoyed. I wouldn’t mind now buying a copy of the original to compare.

Being able to take Ella from book to film has been a wonderful experience. She tends to get quite scared in many of the G-rated films, so by having read the book she already knows the story has a positive outcome. She loves seeing how the characters in her mind are played out in what she regards as “real life’’. That’s what movies are, right?

I read a quote about not wanting to start a new book, because you’re still living in the world of the last book you read. I’ve felt very much like that with all five of these books. I know Ella has to. There were even tears after The Faraway Tree series ended.

What are your children’s favourite chapter books?

* To remain open and honest with you, the * denotes affiliate links. This means if you happen to click through to Book Depository and purchase a book, I will earn a small commission. Although, it probably won’t be enough to buy a Wonka chocolate bar. Of course, this doesn’t mean you get charged any more – or any less!

SPONSOR

October 11, 2012
How to make a Dolly Varden Cinderella birthday cake – without it ending in tears
Why I choose the most difficult cakes to bake, I don’t know. This time it was a Dolly Varden cake for Holly’s second birthday. Not only was it a Dolly Varden cake, but it was a Dolly Varden Cinderella cake.

As you will have read yesterday, I had some challenges. Here are some points from my cake making exercise:
- The recipe calls for one and a half quantities of cake mixture, so I had enough mixture left over to make cupcakes as a backup. Thankfully I didn’t need to use those.
- Fondant ready roll icing I think is easier than butter icing. It’s just like playing with Play Dough. Hence, my mouse!
- This one definitely needs to be made a day before. Unlike last year’s princess castle cake. It took a long time and plenty of things can go wrong.
- After making the recipe and having all sorts of trouble and stress with the Dolly Varden tin, I’ve since read about cooking three square cakes, piling them on top of each other, then trimming the edges to form a cone. Now that would have been a heck of a lot easier.
- Never open the oven to check on your cake when it’s in an incredibly unstable Dolly Varden tin. Never. Read this to learn why.
- I have to thank Donna Hay Kids Birthday cookbook and Pinterest for helping me come up with the design.
Here’s how I made it:

Dolly Varden Cinderella Cake by Kellie O’Brien on Scribd

Would you attempt to make something like this? Or have you already?

Please note: some links are affiliate links. This means if you choose to become a customer of theirs in the future, I may receive a commission. This doesn’t impact what you’re charged at all.
October 8, 2012
How do you make pancakes? (Pancake recipe)

Every Thursday morning, we have pancakes for morning tea. When I say pancakes, I mean Australian pancakes, like what your grandmother used to make – flat and crepe-like. Or maybe that was just my grandmother.

This morning, I decided to put up a photo of Li’l Holly spreading her pancakes with jam and our (very basic) pancake recipe:

1 cup of plain flour
1 cup of milk
1 egg

When we don’t have eggs, we replace the egg with one mashed banana. Surprisingly, it works! We then top them with lemon and sugar. Although, being minus lemons this morning, we went for jam.

Underneath the photo, I asked: how do you make your pancakes? Here were some of the responses:

Amanda: 2 Cups SR Flour, 1/2 Cup Sugar, 2 eggs, a splash of vanilla and about 2 Cups of Milk. They come out more like pikelets, but that’s the way we like them.

Katrina: as above, but minus the sugar and add lemon juice!!!

Alison: I use SR flour – we like them fluffy and high. I add grated apple and they are so moist and yum.

@KatrinaHigham: I am married to a chef. Ours get complicated with egg whites and baking powder. We do sugar, flour, eggs, milk, baking powder and salt. #fluffy

@GoodGoogs: I add sugar. Does no one else add sugar? We are a maple syrup, lemon and cream kind of family.

@MattJForbes1: Try putting some buttermilk, replace 25% of the milk! Sugar is a must!! Or honey!

So, the question is, how do you make YOUR pancakes?

Read more recipes.

September 13, 2012
Gardening can be fun. Umm, are you sure?

You hear people who have a liking for terry towelling hats go on about the therapeutic wonders of gardening. Generally, it has the opposite effect on me, primarily because of the state of the seedlings after I’ve had my way with them. I did not inherit my mum’s green thumb.

However, I still can’t help but have this desire to want a vegetable garden abundant with fresh produce for the kitchen – every Spring. And so the planning has begun. I’ve weeded out (pardon the pun) which plants won’t grow and which we have moderate success with here on the North West Coast of Tasmania.

Here’s what works:
Lettuces – usually more than we can manage
Cucumbers – each year I vow I’ll use them to help the bags under my eyes, but somehow eat the lot.
Zucchinis – Zucchini slice is eaten till we turn green.
Corn – only if in a certain spot in the garden
Peas – usually don’t make it to the kitchen
Beans – as above, but not usually with the same degree of enjoyment from small children.
Carrots – they don’t really look like carrots. The last lot looked more like deformed Barbie dolls.

With the weather soon to warm up, we’ve started to explore the new dirtgirl scrapbook. It can basically be used for whatever you wish, but we’ve decided to make it very much focused on gardening and the recipes we create from those veggies – if they grow, of course!

Ella has already drawn pictures of what she’d like in the garden (although, I’ve had to explain, we can’t grow chocolate) and used some of the cut outs of dirtgirl, pumpkins and flowers to glue onto one of the blank pages.

As part of the Grow Garden Journal Expansion Pack (sold separately), there are dedicated “in my garden today’’ pages, which inspired our gardening focus, along with recipe pages and a sheet of weather stickers. As part of the scrapbook itself, we also have 64 blank pages and pretty craft pattern pages to use for dried leaves, to paste photos to and write in information we glean from the internet to help our gardening become a little more… fruitful. What I love most about the scrapbook is the fact it grows with you – you can add pages as you fill up the existing ones.

The scrapbook certainly oozes quality, style and will have longevity – this is something to treasure many years into the future. I can’t wait to look back on this journal and see what we produced together – with our bare hands and a bit of sun! Priced at $39.95, I think it’s going to be particularly popular with the grandmas out there. I see a lot of grandparent and grandchild projects happening over the coming months.

Now go get grubby!

The dirtgirlworld scrapbook is available through selected Stockists and online at shop.leafjournals.com.

DISCLAIMER: Cath Connell from Leaf. Paper and Journals is a Mum PR client. However, I genuinely love this product. Hence the reason for feeling compelled to blog about it!

How does your garden grow? What vegies do you have the most success with?

August 10, 2012